New NRA President Oliver North Blames School Shootings on Ritalin, “Culture of Violence”

Oliver North speaks at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center on May 4, 2018 in Dallas, Texas.

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Incoming NRA President Oliver North proved that he’s going to be no different than his predecessor when it comes to responding to mass shootings. The real reason why there’s a string of school shootings in the United States, he said, had nothing to do with access to firearms but rather on movies and access to psychiatric drugs. “The problem we’re trying like the dickens to treat the symptom without treating the disease. And the disease, in this case, isn’t the Second Amendment,” North said on Fox News Sunday. “The disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence, they’ve been drugged in many cases.”

North went on to note that “all you need to do” to know that what he’s saying is true “is turn on the TV, go to a movie.” Plus, he added, “many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten.”

Although North cautioned that he is “certainly not a doctor,” he is certain that “you are not going to fix it by taking away the rights of law-abiding citizens.” If the solution is to make schools look like prisons, so be it. “You’ve got to take it away to harden the place sufficiently, that those kids are safe inside the door,” North said. “If that means five metal detectors getting and out of the high school, you get five metal detectors.”

Incoming @NRA President Oliver North says: "If school shield had been in place, far less likely that would have happened. "The disease in this case isn’t the 2nd amendment, the disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence, they've been drugged in many cases," pic.twitter.com/TrFFG0jHK0

There have been 22 school shootings in the United States so far in 2018, according to CNN. That means there has been more than one shooting a week where at least one person was hurt or killed so far this year.